Reports emerged this morning the north London side were willing to fly staff out to Russia to complete a medical as part of a deal worth £26.5m, but the 22-year-old is in no rush to finalise.

And now the selling club could pull off a shock move to bump his price up to £45m, football finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed.

He detailed how a storming World Cup for the Uruguay star will allow the Serie A team to dictate negotiations.

He told Starsport exclusively: "From Arsenal's point of view – they are competing against teams who are already in the Champions League.

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PRICEY: The Uruguay star could cost £50m

“They are instantly looking for an extra £15m to £20m”

Kieran Maguire

"The only advantage they have is that they're based in London and that's a huge attraction for players.

"But in terms of Torreira, it all depends on his World Cup performance.

"So far he's had a storming couple of games, so whoever owns him at the moment [Sampdoria] are instantly looking for an extra £15m to £20m on top of his price at the start of the tournament.

"That's why we've seen the transfer window dry up while players are in Russia."

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GK: Bernd Leno

Kieran is a chartered accountant with a background in finance but has channelled his skills to match his passions after gaining exposure from his explanation of the Glazer family's takeover of Manchester United in 2003.

He now spends his time lecturing at Liverpool University, where he has become a specialist in football finance, but often appears on the BBC and Sky Sports.